Cthulhu Panel: One organ mutates every day

[There is a large hall in the cave beneath the tomb, with interconnected passageways, covering almost half of the cemetery.]

[In the center of the room was a giant human face symbol made up of rat heads. Benjamin's mutilated body was found at the scene. The victim had encountered an A-level mutant. A-level mutants have a very low aggression. The Operations Department successfully eliminated the mutant and brought back the complete remains of the A-level mutant.]

"Finally, a human face symbol appeared. A face with two eyes, a long ear on the upper left and right, and a long beard on the lower left and right."

"Team Leader Matthew initially predicted it was a Class B mutant, but it turned out to be a Class A mutant? The deviation from reality is over 20%..."

Wayne continued to flip through the report in his hand, which contained both text and photos from the scene.

The black and white photo of Benjamin in his old age is particularly striking. Even ten years ago, he looked like a living dead. The caption even said it was "the only photo of Benjamin that could be found during his lifetime."

Matthew advised, "Just focus on the summary of our new head of the investigation department, who is also the current deputy director of the Special Affairs Bureau."

Wei En nodded and turned to the section on the section chief's speculation and summary. It was still handwritten, with elegant handwriting and some parts filled with colloquial descriptions.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Summary of the Investigation Department:

Benjamin died ten years ago, but reappeared a year ago. He is active in the South District and has a strong stench of decay. He is suspected of losing bodily functions but retaining his mind. He has been researching pagan rituals of unknown origin, mainly using human face symbols as symbols.

Based on federal records and multiple testimonies, it is inferred that Benjamin may have mysteriously returned to life. Therefore, the rituals marked with facial symbols may be related to his resurrection.

After a full day of rigorous investigation and further interrogation by the intelligence department, several Blood Gang members confessed that Benjamin had repeatedly preached the Resurrection Ritual at the Hoffhouse Tavern and spread the ritual by giving away stone sculptures.

The Blood Gang members who confessed, like Bob, had all had close contact with Benjamin and all had relatives they wanted to resurrect or save.

According to several Blood Gang members, Benjamin had prepared everything before his death last week and told them that if he died, it would mean the ritual was successful. The ritual was suspected to have taken place in the South District Cemetery.

Benjamin is indeed dead, dead at home. (Benjamin's death is questionable; the possibility that Bob and Benjamin orchestrated the whole thing cannot be ruled out.)

Worker Bob believed the resurrection ritual had worked, so he led the way in burying Benjamin in the South Cemetery. Following the ritual, he arranged human face symbols with animal remains at Lake Myan, and finally returned home, killed his ailing mother, and then attempted to resurrect her.

As a result, Bob discovered that his mother had not been resurrected, and Benjamin, after being buried in the South Side Cemetery, also failed to resurrect. He concluded that the resurrection ritual had failed, and in utter despair, he shot himself.

[A human face symbol was found in the cave beneath the tomb. Benjamin's body was severely gnawed. The Operations Division encountered and successfully eliminated a Class A mutant there. Preliminary assessment suggests that the Class A mutant in the tomb, like the Class C mutant in Bob's house, is a product of a resurrection ritual.]

supplement:

The Class C mutant possesses some characteristics of Bob's mother, confirming her as the mother Bob intends to resurrect; while the Class A mutant exhibits certain characteristics of a young woman, suggesting she may be Benjamin's target for resurrection.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It seems that the loosening of the purview of those few members of the Blood Gang who knew the truth was crucial, giving the bureau a concrete basis for its speculations about the case.

Resurrection ritual?

Bob's decision to revive his elderly mother is understandable.

Bob was poor, unable to afford medical treatment, burdened with huge bank debts, and his mother was seriously ill. In desperation, he took a dangerous path, which ultimately led to tragedy and also gave birth to a Class C mutant.

Whom was Benjamin trying to resurrect? Why wasn't he resurrected himself in the end? Did he fail?

An A-class mutant was encountered on site... possessing certain female characteristics...

Wayne remembered the old photograph of a woman he'd found at Benjamin's house. He felt in his coat pocket; the photograph was still there, along with the chisel. So he took them out and handed them to Matthew.

"Team leader, do you think... that A-level mutant might be the woman in the photo? Benjamin wanted to resurrect her, but under the influence of the heretical ritual, she unexpectedly turned into a mutant."

Matthew took the photo and chisel, smelled the familiar stench of decay, stared intently at the young woman in the photo, and instantly understood:

"This is a crucial clue. What you said is highly likely. I will submit this information."

Wayne frowned slightly, recalling the C-class mutant—the one with Bob's mother's head pieced together with a headless statue—and asked, puzzled, "..."

"Team leader, is it really possible for a person to become a mutant? If a person becomes a mutant, will they still have the emotions they had in life?"

Matthew paused for a moment and then replied:

"With the aid of certain extreme rituals, when a person is injected with excessive amounts of contaminants, it is possible for them to transform into a different species. Of course, in this case, the likelihood of sudden death is greater. As for whether these different species possess emotions from their previous life... there is still no definitive conclusion."

"There's no definitive conclusion, which means it's possible," Wei En thought to himself.

"Scientifically speaking, whether or not someone possesses emotions depends on the condition of areas such as the basal ganglia, midline of the frontal lobe, and precuneus of the brain. But as you know, the concept of 'different species' is itself unscientific, and we can only try to understand it partially based on our existing knowledge."

Wayne nodded in agreement and continued to look through the rest of the report.

During the investigation, two different species were encountered, both classified as blood-type subspecies based on their appearance and contamination characteristics.

"Bloodline subspecies?" Wayne looked at Matthew. "Team leader, what's the deal with these bloodline subspecies?"

Matthew stroked the pen in his hand:

"You haven't seen enough yet. Once you've seen more, you'll find that most mutant species have some obvious physical characteristics. Based on these characteristics, the Bureau has currently classified them into four subspecies, one of which is the Blood Subspecies. We generally call them Blood Species. According to the Bureau's definition, Blood Species are mutant species that have characteristics related to blood and flesh."

Four subspecies? I see.

Although we didn't see the Class A Variant under Benjamin's tomb, the Class C Variant at Bob's house was impressive; we watched as a fleshy head grew out of the headless statue.

It turns out that these different species are all called blood subspecies, or blood species.

Matthew continued:

"Moreover, the Class C mutant we encountered earlier did indeed possess contamination in terms of flesh-and-blood transformation and fusion. You personally witnessed it transform from a stone sculpture into flesh and blood, which aligns with our consistent understanding of blood-seed contamination. The Class A mutant, on the other hand, possessed non-contact contamination, which also affected its flesh and blood. That's why we ultimately classified these two mutants as blood-seeds."

"Understood." Wayne absorbed the bloodline information while browsing the nooks and crannies of the case report.

[The former head of the investigation department went insane, and the creature he encountered at the scene was also a blood-type subspecies. Facial symbols were also found. Preliminary assessment suggests a strong connection between the two cases.]

According to reports from Group 2 of Section 7 and Group 1 of Section 5, the residual pollution at the ceremony site may be related to feelings of "despair."

Despair?

Wayne was deeply impressed by this. When he was at Bob's house with the headless statue, he was unable to react when the anomaly occurred, largely because he was in a dark and desperate state of mind and simply couldn't move.

The despair and pollution brought about by the ritual... could also be considered a key clue.

"Team leader, is Bob's case coming to an end?" Wayne asked.

"Yes, we're closing the case now," Matthew said.